Mexico, the cyclone peaked with winds of , equivalent to low-end Category 2 status, on October 7. It only held its peak intensity for six hours, after which a minimum barometric pressure of was recorded, the lowest known air pressure in relation to the storm. The rapid deepening of the storm was described as "difficult to account for," and the conditions that caused it—as well as those that led to its dissipation—"may be regarded as extraordinary." Immediately after peaking in severity, the storm weakened quickly: after skirting the Dry Tortugas in the lower Florida Keys, it moved ashore early on October 8 near Cortez, near Bradenton—just south of St. Petersburg—with winds of . Cortez measured a pressure of as the calm eye of the hurricane passed overhead. The storm deteriorated into a tropical storm as it proceeded inland, and further into an extratropical cyclone with gale-force winds on October 9. Its remnants emerged from the coast of North Carolina into the Atlantic and curved southeastward, then bending westward again before dissipating on October 14. Preparations and impact Hurricane warnings were issued for coastal areas of Florida, including the Florida Keys, the Tampa Bay area and the Panhandle. Storm advisories were also posted along the state's Atlantic coast, and portions of the Eastern Seaboard. They were discontinued on October 8, although small craft warnings remained in place along the Northeastern Coast. Pan American Airways canceled flights between Miami and Havana, Cuba, and also to Guatemala and Mérida, Yucatán. Small navy vessels were secured, while larger ships rode out the storm at sea. In the Key West neighborhood of Poinciana Plaza, 2,000 residents evacuated their homes. Emergency shelters in the area were opened, and local business slowed considerably with the exception of a few grocery stores selling emergency supplies. Schools closed as windows were boarded up on houses and businesses. Throughout its course, the hurricane was heavily observed and investigated, resulting in an abundance of information that provided a more comprehensive understanding of a tropical cyclone's vertical structure. It was profiled in detail in a Monthly Weather Review article by R. H. Simpson, titled "A Note on the Movement and Structure of the Florida Hurricane of October 1946". The hurricane's passage across western Cuba was accompanied by wind gusts of . Sugar cane crops there were destroyed, cutting supplies to the United States by several tons. Towns lost communication with outside areas